Home Gardening Tips: Fall and WinterLearn some tips from the ABQ BioPark's gardening pros.http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark/news/home-gardening-tips-fall-and-winterhttp://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark/news/home-gardening-tips-fall-and-winter/@@download/image/Outdoor-Nature-Season-Plant-Fall-Leaf-3143190.jpg

Home Gardening Tips: Fall and Winter

Learn some tips from the ABQ BioPark's gardening pros.

Oct. 31, 2018 - There is plenty to do in your home garden during the fall and winter months. Check out these tips from ABQ BioPark horticulture staff Melissa Tapia-Garcia and Melissa Feeser. Download fall/winter garden tips sheet.

The end of October is a good time to dig and divide perennial plants.

Dig up your perennials and gently cut them into halves, thirds or quarters, depending on the size of the plant. Replant.

This is a good time to apply a high phosphate fertilizer such as bat guano, bone meal or blood meal to give your beds a boost.

Don’t go overboard with fertilizers and compost.

Bagged manure is salty—Albuquerque soil is already on the salty side, so if you use manure, keep in mind that a little goes a long way.

If you use compost, remember the same principle and don’t pack it too densely. A little sand mixed in will help your soil breathe.

Work fertilizers into the top three inches of soil with a hand cultivator, or lightly turn the soil and fertilizer together with a shovel.

Fresh manure can burn your plants. Make sure your manure is well aged before use.

Don’t cut back…yet.

Don’t cut any of your plants back until February or March. This will help protect the plants to help them endure cooler temperatures. It also adds winter interest, food and nesting opportunities for animals like birds.

Plants like forsythia, lilacs, flowering almonds and winter jasmine are best left to prune in the late spring, after they've finished flowering.